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Thursday, March 17, 2011

Chickens to the Rescue!

When I grabbed these two books (Chickens to the Rescue and Pigs to the Rescue by the talented John Himmelman) off the library shelf, entertained by the concept and the cover illustration, I didn't realize what a treat Spencer and I were in for. These books are totally hilarious. Farmer Greenstalk and his wife and two children and their farm encounter the usual mishaps of life (the sheep wandering into the woods, a watch dropping down a well, the dog eating some homework, the hose springing a leak, the cat spilling his milk dish, the duck driving off in the farmer's truck---you know, the normal kinds of daily trials). But lucky for them, they have some fabulously go-getter, good-deed-doing groups of farm animals who send spies around the farm and farmhouse to sound the alarm whenever there's trouble and call in the troops: Chickens to the rescue!! Pigs to the rescue!! (The chickens of the first book are a tad more effective than the pigs in the second in lending a helping hand, however.)

Spencer loved looking for the lurking chicken spy (or pig, in the second book). I loved the illustrations---the scuba-gear-wearing chickens off to rescue the dropped watch, the mayflower-clad pigs "fixing" the daughter's shoelace, delightful chaos and detail on every page. Alysa and I both definitely recommend these great children's picture books (I made Alysa read them when she and her boys were over at my house). Two thumbs up. Or, four. :)

Note from Alysa: This post was updated 4/8/16 to add affiliate links. So, now you can click the cover images to get more info about and shop for these books on Amazon. If you make a purchase while you're there, I earn a small commission. Also, I still really love these books, and now there are two more in the series. :)